NGD - Guild Starfire I Jet 90 semi-hollowbody

FrankHudson · #1 03-13-2021, 07:29 PM

I already have too many guitars, but even on days when other forms of creativity are beyond my grasp I often enjoy just playing three or four different electric guitars just to make a racket. That word "different" is important in this. I could do most anything I need to do on electric with a single Telecaster with a neck humbucker, but the joy in this less directed activity is to move from a Tele, to a Jaguar to a big Gretsch hollow-body with each feeling, looking, and sounding different.

This guitar caught my eye (and ear when I heard the few samples of its sound available online). It's from Guilds import electric line and doesn't duplicate any vintage Guild model exactly. I finally worked out a trade today using a Strat I had (keeping to a one-in/one out practice) for a new one that I could find in stock from a nice local shop: Twin Town Guitars.

Here's what it looks like:

What's it sound like/feel like? Well, it's obviously early days, but here are some initial impressions.

Light for a full-sized "335 type" semi-hollowbody. Well balanced on a strap or when sitting. Neck feels a tad wider than some other electrics, and it's a Gibson width nut 1.69 inch. Neck profile is not deep or chunky. Flatish 12.5 inch fretboard profile. Modern style frets, unremarkably medium. Bigsby style vibrato has a stiff spring, which I don't mind, but noticeably heavier in touch than other Bigsby's I play.

My vision is not sharp and I'm not usually over concerned with minor fit and finish details. Overall my once-over is that it looks great. It does have the usual unfinished, unbound f holes that might bother some. No one ever watching me play will see that, and I can't look in the f holes while I'm playing either.

Action is quite good and no buzzes on my example.

The main attraction is the three "Franz" P90s style pickups. I don't have any significant experience with the actual vintage models as found on some old Guilds, but these have a nice character. The upper bout knob is a six-way switch , so you get all 3 pickups by themselves or the bridge middle or neck middle sounds you might expect and then a sixth setting for just the neck and bridge pickups too. Note also that the bridge pickup is not anywhere as close to the bridge as it would be on most other guitars.

I'll follow up with a more complete review and talk about the sound soon.

Glennwillow · #2 03-13-2021, 11:26 PM

What a great looking guitar, Frank! Congratulations! I bet those P-90s are going to sound great!

- Glenn

Dru Edwards · #3 03-14-2021, 07:51 AM

"I already have too many guitars,", great way to start a NGD thread, like many of us have

. Good thing there's a difference between 'need' and 'want'.

Enjoy your Guild! You have a wide array of tones to play with. P90s rock.

ChrisN · #4 03-14-2021, 10:30 AM

Made to be Played - great slogan, and a beautiful guitar.

Steve DeRosa · #5 03-14-2021, 10:59 AM

Great people at Twin Town - I bought my White Falcon from them in 2018 - and FWIW I came this close to buying one of those Guilds; thing that put me off was that I can't get all three PU's at once - something I discovered 40 years ago on my Yamaha SSC-500, something I use regularly on my Gretsch 5622 cats'-eye, and something I've come to find a serious drawback on my Strat (an '86 Squier/Fender that I'd prefer to keep all-original) - and since I already have a big 3-PU jazzbox (Peerless-made Carlo Robelli ES-5 copy) I can't justify the new Guild X-350...

Use it well, often, and LOUD...

Dadzmad · #6 03-14-2021, 01:54 PM

Frank - she looks so nice and pushes a lot of buttons - bet she sounds good too.

Steel and wood · #7 03-14-2021, 03:07 PM

I'm sure it sounds as good as it looks!

dougdnh · #8 03-14-2021, 06:34 PM

I've seen many Guilds - never seen any like that. Very cool, unique guitar. You can't go wrong with a Guild. I have a made in Rhode Island Bluesbird - amazing guitar.

jricc · #9 03-14-2021, 08:28 PM

Very cool Guild, congrats!

FrankHudson · #10 04-01-2021, 12:19 PM

I promised a little follow up on what it sounds like....

Something interesting I can't quite figure out about this one. I've owned several full hollow-body archtops over the years (nothing exotic or high-end) and I've had up to three "335 type" semi hollow-bodies at the same time, including an Epiphone ES-339 with two P90s that I own currently.

But this Starfire I? For a semi hollow-body slimline all-laminated archtop with a center block I've never heard acoustic resonance/feel like this one has when I strum it. It's uncanny. I'd read it comes from the factory with an .011 set (a valid, but uncommon choice these days if that's true), but mine from a local store's display stock has a plain (not wound) G and D'Addario colored ball-ends, and the set on my example feels like .010s.

Here's and example, a short piece I recorded last month as I looked to complete my five-year project to perform the entirety of T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" in serial installments each April for U. S. National Poetry Month.* Vocals and electric guitar part recorded at the same time, and the Guild Starfire is going into my Hot Rod Deluxe with some compression, tremolo, and reverb -- and that'll leak into my vocal mic along with more than I expected "acoustic" sound from the Starfire being strummed as I sang. Almost sounds like a doubled part and the acoustic resonance is there even when I solo the close mic on the amp.

What the Thunder Said Part 1

The other parts in the piece are electric piano and a decent MIDI virtual instrument emulation of the Fender Piano Bass made famous by Ray Manzarek's left hand with the Doors.

*I'll bet that sounds a real pseud's corner project on the face of it to many, but Eliot's poem is both very musical -- and despite the infamous footnotes -- gritty at times.

jricc · #11 04-01-2021, 12:55 PM

Whoa, cool Guild! I love the sound of it in your demo! Has a real nice acoustic-type sound through the Hot Rod. I'd love to hear it without the acoustic bleed. Thanks for the review/post

Steve DeRosa · #12 04-01-2021, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

...For a semi-hollow body slimline all-laminated archtop with a center block, I've never heard acoustic resonance/feel like this one has when I strum it. It's uncanny. I'd read it comes from the factory with an .011 set (a valid, but uncommon choice these days if that's true), but mine from a local store's display stock has a plain (not wound) G and D'Addario colored ball-ends, and the set on my example feels like .010s...

I'm thinking it has more than a little to do with the fact that, in spite of the presence of a center block, all the controls are mounted in non-critical areas along the rim - IME one of the reasons Gretsch hollowbodies also sound so lively and resonant. FWIW things seem to be generally moving back toward heavier string gauges on hollow/semi-hollow electrics (FYI 11's are also standard equipment on most new Gretsch instruments), and I'm not surprised that they feel much lighter on your Guild - whoever Twin Town has doing setups really knows his/her stuff, and the White Falcon I bought from them a couple years back has the lowest action of any brand-new guitar I've ever owned. I'll also add that, as I'm certain you're aware, your guitar will often have a way of telling you what it likes rather than vice versa: while flatwound 12's were factory issue for most thinline electrics (and virtually all solids) back in the day, and both my late-model Gretsches came with roundwound/plain-G 11's (since swapped for wound-G flats on my 5622), the Falcon only really came to life (acoustically and electrically) with flatwound/wound-G 10's - I'd do a little experimentation with string types/gauges to put the final fine-tune on your tone...